Not made-up!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s make-up artist, Ojas Rajani, talks about the non-made-up make up, keeping it minimal and more…In Ludhiana, Ojas held a make-up workshop for the ladies of the city to help them ape the gorgeous on-screen look of celebrities, while offering her take on make-up habits of a number of them.

Perhaps all of us remember the stories floating in the media about Aishwarya Rai throwing a tantrum on the sets of Action Replayy, insisting that her own make-up artist work on her. While some thought it was a starry fit, others woke up to the importance of proper make-up. “Of course Aish needed convincing make-up on her face. She can’t afford to look sloppy on screen; it might ruin her career,” puts in Ojas Rajani, the artist behind Rai’s stunning looks in several films, including Robot and Enthiran.

In Ludhiana on Friday, Ojas held a make-up workshop for the ladies of the city to help them ape the gorgeous on-screen look of celebrities, while offering her take on make-up habits of a number of them. “Rani Mukherjee got it totally wrong in Aiyaa when her make-up ended up making her look ten years older!” she began. “The idea of make-up is to keep it minimal for a younger look. Priyanka Chopra and Preity Zinta are the best examples. They keep it simple and look young,” Ojas adds.

Brand ambassador for cosmetic brand Inglot, Ojas also unveiled the new line of cosmetics at the brand’s store at Silver Arc Mall, Ludhiana.

Talking about the evolution of the industry, Ojas notes that make-up in India has come a long way from putting-a-cakey-layer-on-face job to becoming a serious art. But north Indians, she observes, continue to rate make-up based on the quantity of it.

A regular bridal artist at high-end weddings, where Ojas is known to work wonders with her skill at colours, brushes and sponges, says with a sigh how she wished brides up North went easy on foundation. “With the wedding attire already so heavy and blingy, it’s desirable to keep the make-up soft,” Ojas doles out a handy advice. Choona-thop—the term she used for yesteryear style of make-up on brides—was a result of untrained people doing the job. “The art has become more professional now,” says this product of Miami School of Design, US.

Weddings, she observes, are the biggest business for her, the only real business in fact. “Association with Bollywood helps form a brand, it helps you get noticed but that’s about it,” says Ojas, whose long roster of celeb clients includes Malaika Arora Khan, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. “But it’s the weddings in India that show us the money,” she adds, revealing that her work at weddings has given her a chance to visit Chandigarh often.